Poole eligible to run - Index of - The Cherokee Ledger-News

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12 THE CHEROKEE LEDGER-NEWS NEWS NOVEMBER 7, 2012 FROM PAGE 1 nnn FAN: Gracie makes homecoming court Gracie is the third girl to be a homecoming representative, with the first occurring in 2010. “In 2010, we had a family in the football program that had a neighbor they wanted to be Fan of the Week, but I already had someone picked for that week, so we had the idea of putting her on homecoming court,” he explained. “It happened by accident, and we got lucky that it stuck because we were not getting a lot of female students as fans of the week.” Gracie, who lost her vision at a young age due to an inoperable brain tumor, said she was thrilled to be on homecoming court. “I am looking forward to my family and friends coming and seeing me be Fan of the Week,” she said before the event. “I’ve never been on homecoming court, and I just thought, how cool.” Gracie’s father, along with Cherokee High School Alpha Gamma Club member Mason Mayes, escorted her down the field Friday. She wore a gold and white sequined dress. “I want to look fancy,” she said before homecoming. “I have a diamond bracelet that I am going to wear, but I don’t know if that will be fancy enough. I’d really like to wear a diamond cross.” In addition to marching down the field Friday, Gracie rode in the high school’s homecoming parade on Oct. 30, despite the strong winds and nearly freezing Supporting a fellow coach PHOTO BY GREG SPELL | WWW.G-ROXPHOTOS.COM Briana Rokovitz, a ninth-grader at Cherokee, and the rest of the Cherokee High School cheerleading squad collected money for Holly Springs resident and Milton High School football coach, Mike Scott, who has Stage IV pancreatic cancer. During the game against Milton Friday night, football fans donated $8,753 to the Scott family. weather. She said her excitement would keep her warm. “I am looking forward to the parade,” she said the morning of. “I’m going to be riding in a convertible Corvette. My (grandpa) had a Corvette, but it wasn’t convertible. It means a lot to my dad and mom because I have never been in a parade before.” Gracie wore a red dress with pink dots during the parade. She even got new matching heels to complete her look. On Friday, Gracie arrived at the school for the pre-game dinner and then was treated like a princess, as a beautician styled her hair. She then walked out onto the field and listened as an announcer listed her interests and hobbies, including playing the piano and skiing, to the crowd. “I learned to play the piano when I lived in Colorado. I just thought it would be a cool talent because it helps me learn,” she said. “I wanted to learn it and RATING: FROM PAGE 5 The report also points out that the future financial outlook for Woodstock looks promising, referencing a significant pick-up in commercial and residential building activity and the underconstruction Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta, which is projected to open next summer and produce significant tax revenue. Deanna LaRue, a certified financial planner and president of Timewise Financial in decided I’m going to do it; if you want to be a piano player, then just practice. I learned it by note, and I am actually playing songs now.” Her favorite song to play is Beethoven’s “Für Elise.” In addition to Gracie being the Cherokee Fan of the Week for the Cherokee High School and Milton High School showdown Friday, Shaw said another student, whose name cannot be printed, was chosen as the football Cherokee Fan of the Week representative. Milton’s Head Coach Mike Scott, who is battling stage IV pancreatic cancer, which has spread to his lungs and liver, also was going to be recognized, but due to his failing health, he was not able to attend. Scott’s daughter, Abby, a student at Liberty Elementary, also was going to be acknowledged as Cherokee Fan of the Week, but could not make it. Shaw said Abby would be recognized as Cherokee Fan of the Week at the end-of-theseason football banquet. Woodstock, said in her assessment, while the bond received a downgrade, the report still says the city is viewed as having a stabilizing financial position. “And that could again lead to a change in the rating,” LaRue said. She cited the city’s efforts to develop a new vision for the city, such as the expansion of the downtown and the outlet mall coming online. “This type of influence is what is needed to raise our reserves again to meet the higher credit rating,” she said. $ 5 00 OFF Any $30 Food & Beverage Purchase Dine-in only. Cannot be combined with other specials. Expires 11/19/12
NOVEMBER 7, 2012 NEWS THE CHEROKEE LEDGER-NEWS 13 ELIGIBLE: FROM PAGE 1 Depending on the outcome of the upcoming meeting of creditors in Poole’s case, Board of Elections Attorney Angie Davis said, “It would be inappropriate for me to speculate” on what would happen next. Regarding the ruling, Poole’s attorney, Charles Robertson, told the Ledger-News, “We are pleased but not surprised. We thought the law was pretty clear.” Jeff Rusbridge, attorney for a group of citizens who filed the original complaint challenging Poole’s candidacy, noted the decision states that Georgia law appears to support Poole’s ineligibility. “We are disappointed that, given (that) statement, they nevertheless found that Mr. Poole is not ineligible, thereby making the constitutional provision at issue meaningless,” Rusbridge said. “I will be discussing the decision with my clients, and they will decide whether to pursue further action regarding this matter.” The Board of Elections met Oct. 31 for a hearing regarding the challenge to Poole’s candidacy; however, the board tabled the decision until the morning of Nov. 5, just one day before Election Day. Poole was unopposed for the commission seat after defeating challenger Chris Hampton in the primary. The seat currently is held by Karen Bosch, who decided not to seek re-election. Poole’s eligibility for candidacy came into question Oct. 19 after Rusbridge filed a complaint with Munda on behalf of a group that included Hampton, Scott Ault, Teisha Ault, Jamey Cagle, Connie Miller, Bryan Roach, Eric Love and Linda Flory. After a two-hour, closed-door session Oct. 24, the Board of Elections voted, 4-0, with member Donald Sams absent, to authorize Munda to challenge Poole’s qualification. Other members of the board are Chairman Randy Gravley (appointed by the Board of Elections), Cindy Castello (appointed by the Republican Party), Mary Ann Rentz (appointed by the Republican Party) and Frankie Shepherd (appointed by the Democratic Party). The complaint filed by Rusbridge alleged that Poole was not eligible to hold any office, claiming he is the holder of public funds illegally — an assertion Robertson attempted to shoot down last week at the Board of Elections hearing. “The first and most important thing is that Poole is not the first person to sit in an elected position that has filed for bankruptcy or gone out of business,” he said at the Oct. 31 hearing. “This happens all the time.” The Ledger-News examined public records and found that Poole has had numerous personal and business-related financial problems, two past bankruptcies and is failing to adhere to a 2010 bankruptcy payment plan. “I don’t think he took sales taxes and personally kept them,” Robertson said. “Mr. Poole’s company held public funds, and he is liable under Alabama law. My personal view is that the sales taxes were collected by his business.” Robertson acknowledged Poole’s failed Alabama-based business. “There is no challenge that he lost his business in 2009 or had some tax issues,” he said. “He admitted that he didn’t have enough money to pay his taxes; he wouldn’t be in bankruptcy if he did. Mr. Poole has a bankruptcy, but we don’t get to assert our judgment into that.” Poole was also accused of owing $9,578 to the Internal Revenue Service for unpaid federal taxes, related to withholding. Rusbridge, who was at the hearing last week, said in the letter to Munda that “Mr. Poole himself, in sworn statements submitted with his Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition in the Middle District of Alabama, Case No. 10-11227, admitted owing $29,855 in unpaid state and local sales and withholding taxes to the State of Alabama.” Alabama Department of Revenue records show Poole and his wife owe $38,599 in back state sales taxes from 2009-2011, for which nine liens have been filed. “We have tax officials who have filed a lien. It is certainly possible that when I go home this afternoon, there is going to be a tax lien in my mailbox because somewhere, sometime, someone said I owed it,” Robertson said. “That doesn’t mean I owe it; that means I get an opportunity to argue about it, and it also means that I get an opportunity to file bankruptcy about it and let attorneys argue about it.” Robertson contended that Poole was eligible for candidacy per the Georgia Constitution, as his client has not been adjudicated by a court of law and is on a payment plan. “There is no question that he is making payments. In a letter sent from (Munda), it says that he has made $20,000 worth of payments ... there is a (payment) plan,” he said. The question that was raised, however, was if the payments were sufficient, as Davis pointed out at the Oct. 31 hearing that Poole has defaulted on the payments. Robertson said last week that the payment plan in place had not been dismissed. “If you enter a note to the bank today and in the event that you miss a payment, they can send you a letter that you’re in default,” he said. “He did miss a payment, but entered into a new plan. The nnn JESSICA WAGNER | LEDGER-NEWS Attorney Charles Robertson is pictured speaking to the Board of Elections at the Oct. 31 hearing, as his client, Brian Poole, looks on. bankruptcy trustee took a position and Mr. Poole’s attorney took another; it’s not an admission of judgment.” Robertson said Poole’s payment plan was Alabama’s fight, not the county Board of Elections. “As long as there is a payment plan in place, I don’t think it is our vote. If he abandoned that plan, does that mean we crush down on him because he was one or two days late? It’s not our vote; it’s a decision between two parties,” he said. Robertson said the paperwork filed makes no mention of Alabama’s objection to Poole’s payments, adding that 4,600 people agreed (in the) July 31 (primary) that he was a “good guy.” “If the Alabama tax authority isn’t worried about it, why are we?” Robertson asked. News editor Carolyn Mathews contributed to this article. HennessyHonda.com ACADEMIC SKILLS Are You ConCerned AbouT Your Child’S progreSS reporT? For more than 35 years, Huntington’s highly trained tutors have given students the skills, confidence and motivation needed to get their grades back on track. • An academic evaluation identifies problem areas • Programs tailored to address each student’s needs • Highly trained tutors work individually with students • Huntington improves skills, confidence and grades SAVe $50 *When Your Tutoring Solution ® 1 800 CAN LEARN ® • HuntingtonHelps.com Woodstock 6244-C Old Highway 5 • 678-445-1515 Academic Evaluation fee is applied to tuition upon enrollment. Must call before 11/30/12. 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